Racing Stripes
Racing Stripes is a 2005 adventure / comedy film, directed by Frederik Du Chau. The film is similar in the style to the 1995 film Babe, in that the protagonist is a talking animal who lives on a farm and succeeds at an activity not expected of his species. The film was filmed in Pietermaritzburg and Nottingham Road, South Africa. The film stars the voices of Frankie Muniz and Hayden Panettiere, who will star opposite the voices of Dustin Hoffman, Whoopi Goldberg, Joe Pantoliano, Mandy Moore and Patrick Stewart in Alcon Entertainment’s live-action/CG pic. Also joining the cast of voices is Joshua Jackson, Michael Rosenbaum, Steve Harvey, David Spade, Michael Clarke Duncan, Snoop Dogg, Fred Dalton Thompson and Jeff Foxworthy. Principal photography will begin Sept. 15 in South Africa. A sequel called Racing Stripes 2 has been discussed by Du Chau in an interview and is currently in the works. Plot During a thunderstorm, a traveling circus accidentally leaves behind a baby zebra. The foal is rescued by widower Nolan Walsh, a former Thoroughbred-racehorse trainer who retired when his wife, Carolyn, a jockey, died in a racing accident years ago. Nolan takes the zebra home to his farm and leaves it under the care of his daughter, Channing "Chan" Walsh, who names him "Stripes". Stripes befriends the other farmyard animals, including rooster Reggie, Saanen goat Franny, and Shetland pony Tucker. One day, he becomes convinced that he is destined for the nearby racetrack, the Kentucky Open, after watching a race, not realizing that he is a zebra and is not qualified to race. Three years later, after racing the mailman, an adult Stripes meets a Lipizzaner mare named Sandy and develops a crush on her after losing to the mailman in their usual race. While talking to Sandy, he is approached by Trenton's Pride and Ruffshodd, Stripes' tormentors since childhood. Pride challenges Stripes to a racing match on a Blue Moon night; he accepts, but loses the race. The following day, Tucker, having secretly watched Stripes, approaches him and suggests that he gets proper training first. Stripes, in need of a rider, chooses Chan and convinces a new farm animal, a pelican named Goose, to sabotage Chan's motorcycle and Nolan's old pickup truck so that Chan can ride him to her workplace at the Kentucky Open. The plan works, and Chan, with Nolan's reluctant approval, rides Stripes to the Kentucky Open. There, Chan is antagonized by her boss, Clara Dalrymple, for bringing Stripes to the racetrack, while Stripes meets a pair of horsefly brothers, Buzz and Scuzz. As night approaches, Chan, remembering her first ride on horseback with her mother, completes a lap around the racetrack with Stripes. They are approached by Woodzie, a racetrack gambler and old friend of the family, who encourages Chan to sign her and Stripes up for a tryout race tomorrow. She does, despite Nolan's disapproval, but Stripes becomes scared by the horse-gate, and then gets hit in the face by flying dirt while racing, causing Chan to fall off. Though she is uninjured, Nolan chastises her. Then, Dalrymple sarcastically signs Stripes up to compete in the Kentucky Open competition. Meanwhile, Stripes realizes he is a zebra after being told off by Pride's father, Sir Trenton, which severely discourages him. Despite Chan's pleas, Nolan refuses to let her race with Stripes. Realizing this, the farm animals lure Nolan into the farm to show him a table holding his past accomplishments and he changes his mind. Meanwhile, Franny reveals to Stripes that Tucker helped Nolan train the racehorse champions including Sir Trenton without getting any thanks, which encourages him to begin training. Refusing to allow Stripes to race, Sir Trenton and several Thoroughbreds ambush Stripes and Sandy at a creek as they are talking one night, kidnapping Sandy and threatening to hurt her if he races. Stripes, Tucker, Franny, and Goose agree to rescue Sandy. With Buzz and Scuzz's help, they rescue Sandy from the stables. They then rush back to the farm, where Nolan, Chan, and Woodzie take Stripes and Tucker to the Kentucky Open. When the race begins, Stripes is unable to keep up with the other racehorses, and several other jockeys try to sabotage him including Ruffshodd. However, he remembers a piece of advice given to him by Tucker. This encourages him to catch up with Pride, who is in the lead, and Stripes manages to win. Impressed, Pride makes amends with Stripes, while an unsatisfied Dalrymple is embarrassed when Goose shoots bird droppings on her hat in public. As Nolan and Chan are awarded, Stripes approaches Tucker and gives him his award wreath as thanks. At the end of the film, Stripes, Chan, Nolan, and all of Stripes' animal friends take their picture together. Cast * Hayden Panettiere as Channing Walsh, the deuteragonist. * Bruce Greenwood as Nolan Walsh, the tritagonist. * M. Emmet Walsh as Woodzie, the secondary tritagonist. * Wendie Malick as Clara Dalrymple, the (former) main, but semi, antagonist. * Caspar Poyck as Mailman * Gary Bullock as John Cooper * Thandi Puren as Reporter #1 * Morne Visser as Reporter #2 * Dawn Matthews as Reporter #3 * Matt Stern as Reporter #4 * John Lesley as Paddock Boss * Graeme Hawkins as Track Announcer * Tarryn Meaker as Anthem Singer * Gail Thomas as Reporters Voice cast * Frankie Muniz as Stripes, the titular protagonist. * Joe Pantoliano as Goose * Jeff Foxworthy as Reggie * Dustin Hoffman as Tucker * Whoopi Goldberg as Franny * Snoop Dogg as Lightning * Steve Harvey as Buzz * David Spade as Scuzz * Mandy Moore as Sandy * Fred Dalton Thompson as Sir Trenton, the hidden secondary, but true, antagonist. * Joshua Jackson as Trenton's Pride * Michael Clarke Duncan as Clydesdale * Michael Rosenbaum as Ruffshodd * Jansen Panettiere as Young Stripes * Kyle Alcazar as Young Pride * Frankie Ryan Manriquez as Young Ruffshodd (as Frankie Manriquez) Production Coming soon! Reception Coming soon! Sequel Director Frederik Du Chau has been interviewed about Racing Stripes, and at one point, when asked about whether or not he will work with wild animals again, he stated, "Oh, absolutely. If this does well enough I'm hoping to do... I mean, I wrote the sequel. The sequel's in my computer so I'm hoping to be able to do that." Currently, the sequel is in the works. Trivia * Patrick Stewart was originally going to play Sir Trenton. Gallery Coming soon! References External links Coming soon! Category:Films